Authorities demand pastors to learn and explain Communist Party government policies before giving sermons and include ideological propaganda into them.
According to sources in a Christian church in Hanzhong city, Shaanxi Province, all church activities related to the congregation have to be approved by authorities – the State Administration for Religious Affairs Bureau before it was dissolved in March 2018 and since then, the United Front Work Department or some other government department. Moreover, even after an activity is approved, the state then dispatches officials to supervise its implementation.
Before each meeting religious meeting, be it a smaller gathering of church co-workers or regular sermons for the congregation, the church’s pastors are required to learn various Communist Party policies before they are allowed to address the believers. Quite often, pastors are forced to include in their sermons propaganda on the Party’s policies.
High-definition surveillance cameras have also been installed all over the church to monitor its members; and, via surveillance recordings in a security room, officials can see every corner of the church.
Reported by Yao Zhangjin
